Tuesday, February 12, 2008

PUNE AIRPORT CLOSED

If you are an airline passenger travelling in or out of Pune for the next fortnight, you would not be using the Pune airport but Mumbai airport instead.

The Pune airport is closed for renovation.

The Pune international airport will be closed for 15 days from the February 12 till February 26. It is for the first time that any airport in India is shut for this length of time.

During this time, no commercial aircrafts will land or take off from the airport.

The reason is that much needed runway repair and re-carpeting work, which will be done during this period.

''It was very essential to carry on this work, as there was lot of wear and tear of the runway and closing the airport during this period was imperative,'' Deepak Shastri, Director, Pune International Airport.

Seven airlines operate 35 flights daily to and from Pune, carrying 5000 passengers everyday, apart from international flights to Dubai and Singapore.

But most operators say that since the schedule was declared almost two months ago and the airlines had enough time to inform customers.

''We had two months time to inform all our travel agents and customers and accordingly we did not book any ticket for this sector during this period,'' said Digvijay Wala, Station Manager, Spicejet.

It is not just travellers who will be affected by the closure, several others whose living depends on the airport will suffer for a fortnight.

''I have been operating from the airport for the past 30 years and it is for the first time that the airport will be closed. We are going to suffer,'' said a rickshaw driver.The closure of the airport will definitely cause inconvenience to the passengers but in the end, it will benefit them in the long run. The as runway repair is indeed for their safety and convenience